Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Gov. John Bel Edwards kicked off a full day of lobbying and public events in central Louisiana today by telling a breakfast audience in Choudrant that the state must consider a gas tax hike to address its infrastructure needs.

As The USA Today Network of Louisiana reports, Edwards also said he’s confident more recovery funding is coming for last year’s March and August floods.

By 2019, the governor said the state won’t be able to afford to meet its match to draw down federal transportation funding without raising Louisiana’s gas tax, which he noted has remained at 16 cents per gallon for three decades.

“The Easter Bunny isn’t going to bring us roads and bridges,” he said. “We have to do it ourselves. We’re going to have to make adjustments if we want to move forward and set the stage for commerce.”

The state has already secured about $1.6 billion in federal flood relief, but the governor said Louisiana needs at least $2 billion to make a full recovery.

“I’ve been to Washington eight times already,” he said, adding that he’d go back as many times as it takes to pry more money loose for recovery